AARHUS CONVENTION

Capacity-building framework
Coordination meetings
Survey on capacity building
National Profiles Programme
Thematic and Regional Workshops

Capacity-building activities

The first meeting of the Parties to the Convention (Lucca, Italy, 21-23 october 2002) requested the secretariat to continue with its efforts to develop the clearing house mechanism and capacity-building service (see Decision I/10 ENG FRE RUS) as a means to adequately address the need for coordinated and systematic assistance to the implementation of the Convention, primarily in countries in transition.

In connection with this mandate a broad capacity-building framework has been set up to streamline and rationalize capacity-building activities and promote synergies. The framework, facilitated by the Convention’s secretariat, involves some of the main international organizations involved in capacity building under the Convention. Also in connection with this mandate the secretariat had provided further information on the capacity building activities in a report to the second meeting of the Parties (available in ENG, FRE and RUS).

The partner organizations involved in the framework’s activities over the last year include:

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP)
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
The Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC)
Central Asian Regional Environmental Centre (CAREC)
Milieukontakt Oost-Europa
The Access Initiative (TAI)
European ECO Forum

Coordination meetings  

Four partner meetings have been held since 2003 in the context of the framework

Sixth meeting  
The 6th capacity-building coordinating meeting was held on 7 December 2010 in the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

List of Participants		ENG
Report on the sixth Aarhus Convention Capacity Building Coordination meeting ECE/MP.PP/WG.13/Inf.8		ENG

 

Fifth meeting  
The 5th Coordination meeting was held on 27 November 2008 in the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

List of Participants		ENG
Capacity Building Activities Supporting the Implementation of the Convention: note by the secretariat		ENG
Report of the 3rd meeting of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention		ENG

Fourth meeting
The 4th meeting of international organizations was held on 4 December 2006. Information excahnged by the meeting participants is summarized in the Note by the Secretariat prepared for the 7th meeting of the Working Group of the Parties (2-4 May 2007).

List of Participants (Geneva, 4 December 2006)		ENG
Capacity Building: note by the secretariat (ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2007/L.5)		ENG

Third meeting
The 3rd meeting of international organizations was held on 17-18 November 2005. Information provided at the meeting and its main outcomes are reflected in the Note by the Secretariat on Capactiy Building Activities (available in ENG, FRE and RUS).

List of Participants (Geneva, 4 November 2004)		ENG	n/a	n/a
Note by the Secretariat on Capactiy Building Activities		ENG	FRE	RUS
Presentation of the secretariat on the proposed incorporation of capacity-building information in the clearing house		ENG	n/a	n/a
Presentation of the secretariat on the use of national implementation reports as sources of information on capacity building		ENG	n/a	n/a
Presentation on OSCE activities		ENG	n/a	n/a
Presentation on CAREC activities		ENG	n/a	n/a
Presentation of the REC on component 3.4 of the UNEP-GEF Danube regional project		ENG	n/a	n/a
Presentation of the REC on the project on mediation and ADR		ENG	n/a	n/a
Presentation of the REC on the capacity-building on the Aarhus Convention implementation in the South-East Europe		ENG

Second meeting
The secretariat convened the second annual coordination meeting for international and regional organizations in Geneva in November 2004, at which the participants reported on their capacity-building activities. In order to gather further information, the secretariat subsequently carried out a survey of projects and programmes implemented by these organizations since the first meeting of the Parties . The survey aimed to assist with the review and assessment of capacity-building initiatives and to identify any resources such as materials, staff or office resources that were or would become available for use in other capacity-building activities in a particular country or region. It also attempted to identify the important lessons with regard to the implementation of the Convention learned in the course of the projects’ implementation, as well as any lessons learned related to the project implementation itself. Finally, it looked at needs and challenges identified during the implementation of projects, further assistance needed and any follow-up foreseen as being needed.

List of Participants (Geneva, 4 November 2004)

ENG

First meeting
The objective of the meeting, held in Geneva 30 September 2003, was get an overview of ongoing activities, to discuss the input to the EAP Task Force meeting in Paris the week after and, thirdly, to provide for an opportunity to consider longer-term questions on the promotion of the principles laid down in the Convention. The meeting was very well attended by both UN-bodies and NGOs.

List of Participants (Geneva, 30 September 2003)		ENG
Report		ENG

Survey on Capacity Building  

The questionnaire aiming to identify priority capacity-building constraints as well as outputs and lessons of capacity-building initiatives was presented at the 6th meeting of the Working Group of Parties. The questionnaire has also been sent to the Parties, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations. It aimed to identify priority constraints in the implementation of the Convention at national and local level and steps required to overcome these problems. The survey also asked for an overview and assessment of the ongoing capacity-building activities, including those undertaken by the Parties themselves.

Responses were provided by Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Georgia, Malta and Romania as well as by NGOs from Azerbaijan and Bulgaria and by CAREC. These have been taken into account in preparation of the note on capacity building for the 7th meeting of the Working Group of Parties. The questionnaire and original responses are available from the table below.

Questionnaire in English		ENG
Questionnaire in Russian				RUS
Armenia				RUS
Belarus				RUS
Bulgaria		ENG
Georgia		ENG
Malta		ENG
Romania		ENG
NGO from Azerbaijan				RUS
Bluelink (Bulgaria)		ENG
CAREC		ENG

National Profiles Program  

In early 2003, UNECE together with UNITAR developed the pilot programme to assist c ountries in preparing a national profile to assess their capacities to implement the Aarhus Convention. It provides participating countries with a methodology for a comprehensive multistakeholder process of assessing capacities and needs on the national level. The national profile documents prepared in the context of the project will provide an indication of what steps are required to implement the Convention effectively and will also facilitate identification of priorities for targeted capacity-building. The partner institutions developed a guidance document establishing the main areas and methodology for the development of national profiles, selected Kyrgyzstan, Serbia and Montenegro, and Tajikistan as pilot countries, and worked together with the national project coordination teams on the preparation of the profiles. The national profiles have so far been developed in two of the three pilot countries. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan also used the multistakeholder consultative process and the information in the national profiles to prepare of their national implementation reports under decision I/8 of the Meeting of the Parties. The methodology, which will be further improved, based on the feedback received in the course of project implementation, will be made available to other Parties and organizations.

Thematic and Regional workshops

Workshop on Electronic Information Tools to Support the Implementation of the Aarhus Convention in South-Eastern Europe, 25-26 November 2010, Skopje (the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia)

Workshop on "Making Aarhus work in international forums", 23-24 February 2011, Geneva, Switzerland

Workshop on good practices in public participation at the local level Newcastle Upon Tyne (United Kingdom), 6-7 December 1999

First Central Asian Workshop Ashgabat (Turkmenistan), 4-8 May 2000

First South Caucasus Workshop Tbilisi (Georgia), 11-13 December 2000

Second South Caucasus Workshop Tsakhkadzor (Armenia) 15-17 November 2001

Second Central Asia Workshop in Dushanbe (Tajikistan), 4-7 June 2002: (ENG) (RUS)

National Workshop in Kyrgyzstan (Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan), 9-11 October 2003: programme (ENG), summary of discussions (RUS), workshop outcome (RUS)

Workshop on Access to Justice for High-level Judiciary (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine), 4-5 June 2007, Kiev, Ukraine

International Workshop on Involving the Public in International Forums, 20-21 June 2007, Geneva

Workshop on Public Participation in Strategic Decision-making, 3-4 December 2007, Sofia, Bulgaria

International workshop on access to information, public participation and access to justice regarding GMOs, 19-20 May 2008, Cologne, Germany

Workshop on access to Justice for High-level Judiciary in South-Eastern Europe, 17-18 November 2008, Tirana, Albania